Meatless Monday: Lebanese Roasted Cauliflower over Rice

image via La Grande Farmer's Market

One of my favorite appetizers is a cauliflower dish from a local Mediterranean restaurant in Bend called Joolz. When I told my husband about this dish, he was a little skeptic but when I ordered it for him, he gobbled the plate up and exclaimed "let's try to make this at home."  And off to the kitchen we went.

We could taste lemon and tahini so we started there. Instead of making my own tahini sauce, I went the easy route and bought some at Trader Joe's. After roasting the cauliflower for 30 minutes, we tossed it in 1/2 cup of tahini sauced and sprinkled with parsley and served it over brown rice with some pita bread.



Lebanese Roasted Cauliflower over Rice 

1 large head cauliflower, broken into florets
¼ cup olive oil
dash of salt and pepper
pre-made tahini sauce or better yet, make your own
rice
pita

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil for easy clean up.

In a mixing bowl, toss cauliflower with oil,  salt and pepper until well coated. Spread in a single layer on baking sheet and roast, stirring and turning once or twice, until cauliflower is tender and crispy brown in spots, about 30-45 minutes.

Remove cauliflower from oven and transfer to a serving bowl. Pour tahini over the cauliflower and toss to combine.

Serve warm or let stand at room temperature over rice with pita bread